HP Virtual Orientation Mod 1: Scholarship Information!  #hartfordpromise — Transcript

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1. 0:00Hi, welcome to the all about the
2. 0:02Hartford Promise Scholarship portion of
3. 0:04your virtual orientation.
4. 0:08I'm Sam Levine, director of scholarships
5. 0:11for Hartford Promise.
6. 0:13And I also work closely with Clotilde
7. 0:15Gannon, who also helps administer your
8. 0:17award payments.
9. 0:19We are your team and we are here to
10. 0:21support you throughout this academic
11. 0:23year.
12. 0:26So, the Hartford Promise uh Greater
13. 0:28Future Scholarship is a very unusual
14. 0:30scholarship. First of all, we are both
15. 0:33last dollar scholarships. And what that
16. 0:35means is that we get applied only after
17. 0:38all free aid has been applied. And that
18. 0:41includes things such as other grants or
19. 0:43scholarships.
20. 0:45If after all free aid has been applied,
21. 0:47you still have a balance due, then the
22. 0:49Hartford Promise Scholarship gets
23. 0:51triggered. And we will pay up to $5,000
24. 0:54a year,
25. 0:55and we split it equally between the fall
26. 0:57and spring semesters.
27. 0:59If after we have been applied and you
28. 1:01still have a balance remaining, the
29. 1:03Greater Future Scholarship then gets
30. 1:05triggered and you are
31. 1:08um eligible for up to $20,000 per year,
32. 1:11but this is also split between the fall
33. 1:13and spring semesters.
34. 1:16The issue that can arise is that there
35. 1:17is a very short time between when you
36. 1:20have an accurate fee bill, which is
37. 1:22after your add drop period has closed,
38. 1:25and when issues may arise. So, that when
39. 1:28we reach out to you requesting items,
40. 1:30you really need to stay on top of it to
41. 1:32avoid problems.
42. 1:34Because this can be a a confusing
43. 1:36process, I'm going to give you two
44. 1:38examples of how Hartford Promise and
45. 1:40Greater Future Scholarships might work.
46. 1:43So, I might get a bill, and I look at it
47. 1:46and I review it, and then after all the
48. 1:48free aid is applied, I see that you have
49. 1:50a balance due of $1,800.
50. 1:54What I will then do is issue a Hartford
51. 1:56Promise award for $1,800.
52. 2:00That will bring your balance to zero and
53. 2:02the Greater Futures award will not be
54. 2:05triggered.
55. 2:07Another instance,
56. 2:09after I review your bill,
57. 2:11I see a balance of $12,000,
58. 2:14Hartford Promise will pay its full
59. 2:17$2,500
60. 2:19and Greater Futures will pay $9,500
61. 2:23for that semester.
62. 2:26In the event your balance due is greater
63. 2:29than $12,500,
64. 2:32it is important that you reach out to me
65. 2:34because you will be responsible for that
66. 2:37difference. Again, let me repeat that.
67. 2:39If your balance is greater than $12,500,
68. 2:44you need to reach out to me because you
69. 2:47will be responsible for that balance and
70. 2:49it will need to be paid.
71. 2:53So, let's discuss fee bills a bit.
72. 2:55Um it is very important that you figure
73. 2:58out how to log into your student portal
74. 3:00and pull up your fee bill.
75. 3:02This will help you have all the
76. 3:03information you need to determine
77. 3:05whether you have a balance due, what is
78. 3:08owed, what you're responsible for, or if
79. 3:10something is missing from your account.
80. 3:13A fee bill for our purposes must include
81. 3:15all of the following: your name, your
82. 3:17student ID,
83. 3:19all charges, and all credits on your
84. 3:22account. It also must show your current
85. 3:24balance due.
86. 3:26Um and this information may be laid out
87. 3:28vertically or horizontally on your fee
88. 3:31bill. And if we request that you submit
89. 3:33it, you need to submit it as a PDF. No
90. 3:36screenshots are allowed.
91. 3:39So, how to submit your fee bill to us.
92. 3:41Um
93. 3:42so, are you still awake? Everybody still
94. 3:45there? All right, look alive. Okay. So,
95. 3:47all students not attending a partner
96. 3:50school,
97. 3:51so such as UConn, Central, Eastern, um
98. 3:55they are responsible for providing
99. 3:57myself and Clotilde with your fee bill.
100. 4:00We will send you a request via email
101. 4:03directing you to submit your your fee
102. 4:06bill via Google form.
103. 4:09When we request this fee bill, it's
104. 4:10really important that you submit it
105. 4:12right away. We cannot pay any
106. 4:13scholarships without a valid fee bill.
107. 4:20So, we realize this whole financial aid
108. 4:22process can be a little complicated. And
109. 4:24over the years, we have received many
110. 4:26items that do not constitute a fee bill.
111. 4:29Maybe it's a financial summary, maybe
112. 4:31it's your financial aid award letter, or
113. 4:34maybe it's your schedule. These are not
114. 4:36fee bills. Again, your fee bill has to
115. 4:39show all your charges and all your aid.
116. 4:45While we have a process in place for
117. 4:47paying your awards, there are some
118. 4:49circumstances when we might need to hear
119. 4:51from you sooner.
120. 4:52They are urgent issues, and you should
121. 4:54contact myself or your coach ASAP.
122. 4:58The first circumstance is that your
123. 4:59balance due is greater than $12,500.
124. 5:04The second one is you have already
125. 5:06completed your FAFSA and submitted it,
126. 5:08but no aid has been posted by the month
127. 5:11of July.
128. 5:13And three,
129. 5:14you have been selected for verification.
130. 5:17Now, if you have been selected for
131. 5:18verification, your financial aid office,
132. 5:21not FAFSA, will notify you that you have
133. 5:24been selected.
134. 5:26This is why it's particularly important
135. 5:28that you check your email.
136. 5:31I know you're going to be getting a full
137. 5:33inbox of all the communications from
138. 5:35your school, but it really is important
139. 5:38that you parse through especially
140. 5:40student financial aid services,
141. 5:42financial aid office, or bursar office
142. 5:44emails, because there may be an urgent
143. 5:46matter that you need to address sooner
144. 5:48rather than later.
145. 5:51Because Harper Promise is a last dollar
146. 5:53scholarship, we have a strict no refund
147. 5:56policy.
148. 5:58So, that means that Harper Promise
149. 5:59scholarships
150. 6:01will only cover the costs listed
151. 6:03directly on your fee bill after all
152. 6:06other free aid is applied.
153. 6:08This means we don't provide you with any
154. 6:10extra money as a refund.
155. 6:12Now, it's might be a little confusion.
156. 6:15Although we don't issue refunds, we can
157. 6:18reimburse you for deposits listed on
158. 6:21your fee bills that you have directly
159. 6:23paid to your college.
160. 6:25And this occurs only if you have not
161. 6:27exhausted your entire semester
162. 6:29scholarship funding.
163. 6:32This is really important and write it
164. 6:34down because this is this has become
165. 6:36problematic in the past.
166. 6:38If you receive a refund from your school
167. 6:40that was not approved by Harper Promise
168. 6:42in advance,
169. 6:44you will be required to pay that money
170. 6:46back to Harper Promise and or Greater
171. 6:49Futures.
172. 6:54Because this can be confusing, I'm going
173. 6:56to share the differences between the
174. 6:58reimbursement and a refund.
175. 7:01A reimbursement is giving you back money
176. 7:03that you've already paid in, whether it
177. 7:06be for a deposit or a direct payment
178. 7:08made by you.
179. 7:10You paid it first, and if there's enough
180. 7:12funding available, we will pay you back.
181. 7:15A refund is money from an unused
182. 7:18scholarship. So, if we overpaid your
183. 7:21scholarship for any reason and that
184. 7:24resulted in a refund to you,
185. 7:26that is not your money. It was issued in
186. 7:28error, and it must be returned to Harper
187. 7:31Promise or Greater Futures.
188. 7:35If you're still awake, this is your
189. 7:37reminder to file your FAFSA each and
190. 7:39every year. It is one of our
191. 7:41requirements to renew your Hartford
192. 7:43Promise scholarship, and it's the only
193. 7:45other way aid can get posted to your
194. 7:47account.
195. 7:49Complete it promptly this year to make
196. 7:51sure you have access to the most funding
197. 7:52available. If you cannot, and you're
198. 7:56um
199. 7:56prohibited by your immigration status,
200. 7:59make sure your coach is aware of that.
201. 8:04Meeting with your financial or student
202. 8:06financial services offices.
203. 8:08When your school's financial aid office
204. 8:10requests information about any outside
205. 8:12scholarship, when you're providing
206. 8:14information about us, you should respond
207. 8:16with the following information.
208. 8:18Hartford Promise {slash} Greater Future
209. 8:21Scholarships, last dollar award, amount
210. 8:25to be determined.
211. 8:27Do not provide a specific amount as it
212. 8:29is yet to be determined.
213. 8:32My years of experience, I've learned
214. 8:34some guidelines for asking for help.
215. 8:37When communicating with your financial
216. 8:38aid office, or me for that matter, it is
217. 8:41crucial that you write a clear, polite,
218. 8:44and concise email.
219. 8:46Don't just send me a note, I have a
220. 8:47problem.
221. 8:49Put a subject down. Write, "To whom it
222. 8:52may concern." Or if you have the
223. 8:53person's name, please use that name. Say
224. 8:56something like, "Good morning. This is
225. 8:58my name and my student ID.
226. 9:00I was reviewing my fee bill and I
227. 9:02noticed that my Pell Grant has not yet
228. 9:04been posted. Is there a reason for this?
229. 9:07This is confusing. I don't know. This is
230. 9:09a problem. Please help me navigate
231. 9:11this."
232. 9:12So, the reason why you write a letter
233. 9:14like this is because the more polite you
234. 9:17are, the more likely someone is going to
235. 9:19provide you with quality help.
236. 9:22As I mentioned previously, there's a
237. 9:24very short timeline between when you
238. 9:26have an accurate fee bill and when
239. 9:27issues may arise.
240. 9:29So, we request the fee bill after your
241. 9:32add drop date. We cannot issue an award
242. 9:35prior to that due to fluctuating bills.
243. 9:39Two, you should have access to your
244. 9:41account. Learn how to access it and view
245. 9:43your bills to avoid issues and holds.
246. 9:46Three, seek assistance. Your bursar or
247. 9:49student financial services often can
248. 9:51help you access your fee bill or give
249. 9:53you information that you desire.
250. 9:57So, how do we actually pay your fee
251. 9:58bills?
252. 9:59If you attend one of the listed partner
253. 10:02schools, I will receive your
254. 10:04fee bill directly from your financial
255. 10:06aid office. We have a process in place.
256. 10:12If you attend a school
257. 10:14that was not listed on the previous
258. 10:16slide, you are attending a non-partner
259. 10:18school.
260. 10:19What that means is that you will need to
261. 10:22provide Hartford Promise with your fee
262. 10:24bill.
263. 10:25We will be emailing you a link to a
264. 10:27Google Drive that will allow you to
265. 10:30submit your
266. 10:32fee bill.
267. 10:33Um it is really important at this point,
268. 10:35and I got to emphasize this really
269. 10:36strongly cuz it happens all the time.
270. 10:38You must attach a PDF copy of your bill.
271. 10:42We cannot accept screenshots.
272. 10:44Thanks. Appreciate that extra effort on
273. 10:46your part.
274. 10:49Okay, so what's next? It's our award
275. 10:51determination process.
276. 10:53I take your bill, I review it, I check
277. 10:56it for accuracy,
278. 10:57I then determine your award amount,
279. 11:00and then finally, I request the actual
280. 11:02payment from our award administrator.
281. 11:05Award requests are typically made on
282. 11:07Fridays.
283. 11:11Hartford Promise is here to help you.
284. 11:14First thing you can do is reach out to
285. 11:16your Hartford Promise coach and ask them
286. 11:18for support.
287. 11:20Um and then if you have a financial aid
288. 11:21question that's very specific to us,
289. 11:23then you can reach out to us directly.
290. 11:25Here are emails. Mine is S. Levine at
291. 11:27hartfordpromise.org,
292. 11:29and Clotilde is C. Gannon at
293. 11:32harperpromise.org.
294. 11:33We are here to support you.
295. 11:37And finally, I want to welcome you again
296. 11:39to our Hartford Promise family. We are
297. 11:41always here for you.
298. 11:43Have a great day.